Women’s hockey in Canada is having its best moment in decades. The Professional Women’s Hockey League launched in January 2024 and broke attendance records in its inaugural season. Individual players, however, were still not receiving the name recognition the sport’s growing audience should have been giving them. Part of the reason was structural, embedded in the very design of the jersey they wore. Molson and Rethink identified it, and on International Women’s Day, March 8, 2024, they fixed it.
The Problem Nobody Had Named
In women’s hockey, players often wear their hair in long ponytails beneath their helmets. The nameplate on the back of a hockey jersey sits directly above the number, at the base of the neck. For a significant proportion of PWHL players, that nameplate is partially or entirely obscured by their ponytail during every single shift they play. In every broadcast, every highlight, every slow-motion replay of a goal or a save, the player’s name disappears behind her own hair.
The same problem does not exist in men’s hockey. The standard jersey design, and the standard placement of the nameplate, was developed with male players, who predominantly wear shorter hair, as the default. Nobody designed the women’s nameplate placement to be obscured. It is simply a structural consequence of applying a uniform standard to a different context.
Women’s sports accounted for just 15% of total sports media coverage in 2022, according to research cited by the PWHL. In that environment, every element of visibility that should exist but does not carries additional weight. The jersey nameplate is a small detail. Its consistent disappearance across every broadcast of every match is not.
The See My Name Initiative
Molson, as the official beer of hockey and the PWHL’s newest official partner, worked with Rethink to identify an intervention that was structurally simple, physically permanent for the duration of each game, and directly addressed the visibility problem at its source.
The solution required moving two things. Molson’s logo, which would normally be placed on the upper back of the jersey, was instead placed in the space above the number, in the spot where ponytails fall. The player’s nameplate moved to below the number, into clear space, visible throughout the game regardless of hair length or style. By shifting its own branding into the obscured zone, Molson simultaneously removed the nameplate from the obscured zone and placed its own identity in the exact place where it would be invisible.
The move was intentional and the framing was direct. The PWHL’s own press release described the logic: “By shifting the player’s name below their number, Molson is covering its name so hers can be seen.”
Caroline Friesen, Partner and Group Creative Director at Rethink, described the creative decision’s departure from standard sponsorship logic: “Most sponsorships are about elevating the brand, but with See My Name, we found a way to use a traditional sponsorship to elevate and increase visibility for PWHL players.”
Kara Fitzpatrick, Marketing Director at Molson, described the launch’s intent: “We’re huge fans of the league and its incredible athletes, and launching See My Name felt like the best way to help the stars of the PWHL continue to shine.”
Jayna Hefford, PWHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations, framed the occasion directly: “International Women’s Day is important for celebrating and recognising women who are change makers, which makes it fitting for an initiative like See My Name that provides unique recognition for PWHL players.”
The Launch and the Multi-Year Commitment
The updated jerseys made their on-ice debut on March 8, 2024, during the Toronto versus Montréal game at the Mattamy Athletic Centre, timed specifically to International Women’s Day. A 30-second online video featuring PWHL Toronto players Natalie Spooner and captain Blayre Turnbull, alongside Montréal players Ann-Renée Desbiens, Leah Lum, and Catherine Dubois, launched with the jerseys. The film opens with the familiar image of players’ hair obscuring their names, before cutting to the updated design and the name, now clearly visible beneath the number.
The See My Name initiative was the opening activation of a multi-year partnership between Molson and the PWHL. Paid media ran from March 5 to 24, across social, online video, a Sportsnet and Breakfast Television integration, and out-of-home across Toronto and Montreal. The campaign was designed to signal Molson’s long-term commitment to the league rather than a one-match activation.
The Broader Platform It Sits Inside
See My Name connects directly to Molson’s existing “Everyone In” brand platform, launched in 2023, which was built around expanding who is represented in beer advertising and Canadian sporting culture. The PWHL partnership extends that platform into sports sponsorship, where the brand’s stated commitment to inclusion becomes a physical change to the jersey rather than a campaign statement.
For a sponsorship category in which most investments are measured by logo impressions, dwell time, and brand recall, See My Name inverts the standard model. The brand reduced its own visibility. The campaign’s metric of success is not how many people saw the Molson logo. It is how many people finally saw the players’ names.
Campaign Name: See My Name
Agency Name: Rethink / Group Creative Director: Caroline Friesen
Brand Name: Molson / Molson Coors Beverage Company
Location: Canada (PWHL, Toronto vs. Montréal game, Mattamy Athletic Centre, Toronto; OOH in Toronto and Montreal; national broadcast and digital; launched March 5, 2024)
